Karl Wilhelm de Hamilton

Forest Still Life

Human presence is completely absent in this scene of forest life, where an unfolding drama between predator and prey is revealed by a skillful combination of precise draftsmanship and acute scientific observation. Karl Wilhelm de Hamilton’s use of oil paint on copper gives special luster to his pigments, a quality that made the copper support a favorite with specialist nature painters. De Hamilton also used his thumbprint to create the moss on the trunk of the tree.